What would your name be?

We've been eating dinner at home pretty consistently for the past few months. I took the kids out to eat last night and couldn't remember the last time we had done that. Mother's Day lunch doesn't count. Anyway, I did recall one of the reasons WHY I don't take them out. They act like they have just been released from a decade of solitary confinement at the zoo and told they have fifteen minutes to get in all the talking and fighting they can before they have to go back in the cage. 

After scolding Lily for the twenty-third time in three minutes, I thought about my favorite story about her. So far. 

When Lily was about two, I was talking to her as Moms do. Sweet little voice.

Me: "What's your name?"

Lily: "Lily."

Me: "Lily what?"

Lily: (pause...concentration) "Lily stop."

I will never forget how proud she looked when she said that. Had a big ol' grin on her face. It pretty much summed up the story of her life up until that point.

That got me to thinking. Which is not always a good thing. But it made me wonder what my name would be. Hardly anyone calls me Dana. Its "Hey, girl." I am mama. I'm pretty sure my name would be "Mama Watch Me." It is the single thing I hear more than anything.

It could be worse, I suppose. It could be "Dana You-have-got-to-stop-smoking-so-much-crack." Or "Dana I-left-the-money-on-the-nightstand."

I'm thinking the things you hear most connected to your name may tell the real story of who you are. Whether you like it or not. I also realize that my name will change. One day, in the far too near future I'm afraid, I will suddenly realize that no one is clamoring for my undivided attention any longer. What will my name be then? What will I WANT it to be? I'm not sure.

A lot of people read my blog. I know this because you tell me and also because I have a counter thingy that keeps up with the traffic. But no one ever leaves me a comment. I want you to comment this time. Tell me what your name is. Or what you want it to be. Come on. It'll be fun. ; )

Comments

[Bobby Nations]

I was always confused because MoMo called me by everyone else's name first: "Daryl-Scott-Mary-Donna-Ohhh-just-get-in-here-the-biscuits-are-ready"

:-)

I occasionally give the kids 'Indian' names, which is fun. For a while, Betsy was known as "rocks-on-brain" until we introduced her to boiled crawfish, now she's becoming "crawdad-eater". I forget what we came up with for Eli, but it's something like "head-fulla-knowledge".

If I could have any name? Who knows. When younger, I wanted to be called Sir and Mister. Now that I get called that on occasion, the thrill has most definitely gone. "Dad" is probably my favorite name at the moment, but "Hey, handsome" runs a close second.

Oh, heck, just call me Max.

[Martha Williams]

When younger momma called me Mary nearly all the time.
Got married and it was moppy.
Momma from my kids and mawmaw from the grands.
And I am sure over time I have been called a lot of names I cannot put in public,oh well.